When asked why people felt Gingrich was moving up in the polls, 44% of respondents cited his depth of knowledge on the issues. Ten percent referred to his strong debate performances while another 6% said they liked that he was challenging the media in those debates. Ten percent referenced his past experience as Speaker of the House.

A close look at the data shows Gingrich is actually leading Romney among certain important subgroups of the electorate. Among self-identified conservative voters, Gingrich beats Romney 34%-27%. Among self-identified tea party voters, he leads Romney 38%-21%.

I’m interested to see if Newt can keep up this enthusiasm through the primaries. He’s found a voice that works for him, but people could grow tired of it if it eventually feels dry. Also, he runs the risk of going too far with what’s been working (e.g. chastise the media when they occasionally ask a legitimate question.) In the heat of the moment, knowing the media’s goals, it can be easy to brush off a question that could call into question his stability through the long hall.

I can’t get a feel for where my favorite journalists/pundits stand on Newt. They all seem to be a little worried about his prospects compared to Romney, but none of them spell it out in definite terms. I can’t tell if they are trying to push readers to the “safer” choice, or if they want to make sure we only pick Newt if he continues to prove himself…

Not much we can do, the electorate consists mainly of people who aren’t as tuned in as we are, all we can do really is sit back and see how they are swayed.

What was it Sarah Palin said when Squirmin’ Herman Cain won the Florida Straw Poll? The “flavor of the month,” wasn’t it?

Trump, Bachmann, Perry, Cain, and now Gingrich.

We have to hope some of our voters are old enough to remember why he resigned in disgrace. Gingrich is great in the role of “barbarian at the gate.” In power, it became a different story.

We have to hope some of conservatives are old enough to remember way back in 2010 when Newt not only endorsed the liberal Dede Scuzzyfuzzy for the open seat in NY-23, but mocked and derided conservatives who supported Doug Hoffman – well, up until Dede endorsed the Democrat.

You don’t need a very long memory to know why Newt is not the guy, but you need to have some memory.

The ease with which Newt communicates is refreshing for a Republican politician. While Romney is articulate, everything he says seems rehearsed and choreographed. He seems unable to make it look extemporaneous. I love Sarah Palin, but she often seems to become lost in a thicket of her own words (yes, I know that isn’t a reflection on her intelligence … she writes very well).

Well, Obama got his class warfare. Its revolting manifestation is two months old and displaying the “terrible twos” day in and day out. I had a friendly argument with a woman at work a couple days ago. She supports OWS and lamented that her twenty-something son, who is living at home with her, can’t find a job. Surely he could get a job at McDonalds, I told her. She seemed insulted. Take a minimum wage job with no future?

He’s living at home. Free room and board. He has no expenses. I told her he could take his entire minimum-wage paycheck, every payday, and with an online broker buy shares in some nice dividend growth stocks and keep reinvesting the dividends. A few years down the road, that minimum wage he was earning will be the equivalent (especially given likely capital appreciation) of having earned $15 … $20 … $25 an hour during his stint flipping burgers. In the meantime, if he doesn’t want to take part in McDonalds’ store manager training program, he can go to school part time and learn a skilled trade or go to a community college, prove his academic seriousness, and then transfer to a four-year university. The Cal-State system offers night classes for working adults.

I find it almost infuriating that people see no hope in this free society of ours which bends over backwards to offer people free and low-cost opportunities galore. It’s just maddening.

LukeHandCool (who is part of the 99% but who identifies more with the 1% … and who wishes so many of the 1% would stop with the self-guilt-trip nonsense and stop romanticizing the whining faction of the 99% … if they want to give up on social and economic mobility, that’s their decision to self-destruct … and who is sick of people making excuses and asking how they can possibly learn about investing when we have public libraries and the internet, etc., bursting with information for the free-taking … OWS crowd: you will never “find yourself.” You create yourself through hard work).

Newt has his warts, but given that Romney (and his minions and non-Republican sympathizers) has been having such a good time while he let Perry, Cain, Bachmann get savaged by the Left and the MSM-holes, it has been such fun to watch Romney squirm. NH (Mitt’s top prize) a tie with Newt. Iowa is now Newt’s by double digits.

The Democrats had thought that the inevitably of Mitt Ronmey would give them a McCain do-over, with the Roman columns being dusted off. Newt has been their foil for two decades and both sides have caulked up their share win-s and loss-s.

But, up against Pres**ent “LightWorker” Obama, Newt will not only look like the “smartest man in the room” but Newt will be the “smartest man in the room” and that has them worried.

We should be concerned with a candidates prospect among likely independent/swing + center leading disaffected democrat voters.

It’s typical conservative conceit and folly to think what helps a candidate in a republican primary will translate into success in the general election.

And I still don’t get this persistent, undue premium placed on a candidate’s singular trait; Newt’s IQ. If we were honest, Palin doesn’t an encyclopedic knowledge of policy and probably couldn’t debate as well as Newt. If she had been one of the frontrunners, would Legal Insurrection still promote Newt over Palin because the former is just so darn smart.

You are comparing apples and oranges. No one on the docket has the charisma Palin does. Even her detractors admit this. What’s happening is that not any of the candidates have truly devoted followers in great numbers like Palin does. We are looking for something, anything to cull the herd and give us a candidate we can get behind. That’s why there is a flavor of the month. We are not passionate about any of them. Then again, we are allowing the media to influence our decisions. A ridiculous thing to do when we all know they are trying to influence our pick for the betterment of their candidate, obama..

Actually, this speech took place in Jacksonville, Florida-not Iowa. I had the opportunity to be there and I actually filmed this exchange, although from a slightly different angle. Newt was great though. The event ran about two hours with a few questions at the end. I still don’t know if I’ll support Newt. I feel hopeless this election season.

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